Correlates of job autonomy, personal initiatives and employees’ psychological well-being in ministry of agriculture, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed whether job autonomy and personal initiatives are predictors of psychological wellbeing
among employees in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ogun State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure
was used to select 208 employees for the study. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages,
weighted mean scores, and correlational analysis. Results showed that 85.6% of the employees noted that
they were able to choose the way to go about. their job while 83.6% reiterated that they were allowed to
decide how to go about getting their job done. Also, the result on personal initiative showed that 97.0%
noted that they chose the role they wish to have in a group while 84.1% reported that they have a plan for
making their lives more balanced. For psychological well-being, 97.6% of the employees accounted that the
demands of everyday life always get them down while 87.5% affirmed that they have confidence in their own
opinions, even if they are different from the way other employees think. There were significant relationships
between job autonomy (r = 0.01**), personal initiatives (r = 0.01**), and psychological well-being.
Employees’ job autonomy and personal initiative are predictors of psychological well-being. The ministry
should encourage the use of job autonomy and personal initiative by the employees where necessary to
improve the psychological well-being and administrative strength of the ministry.